Chapter 50

Chi Yu: "...Oh."

The villain's humanity had risen just a tiny bit (not really).

Xie Xiyi tossed him the handkerchief. "All right, I'll keep these two Forbidden Curses. Don't touch them again."

With that, he put the two Forbidden Curses away.

Chi Yu reached out. "Senior Brother Xuanji-"

Xie Xiyi took out a Body Tempering manual. "I'll trade you."

Chi Yu: "..."

He muttered, "You're getting the better end of the deal, Senior Brother Xuanji."

Xie Xiyi said, "These Forbidden Curses can't be used. The user will pay a price."

Chi Yu asked, "What price?"

Xie Xiyi said, "I don't know. In any case, you mustn't touch these things."

Chi Yu: "Oh, all right."

Since they had already been taken away, Chi Yu stopped dwelling on it. He accepted the Body Tempering manual, then suddenly remembered something else and asked, "Then what about the Forbidden Curse on me? Can that bastard still find me?"

Xie Xiyi said, "I don't know."

Chi Yu suddenly smiled. "Probably not. If he could find me, he would have done it already."

Xie Xiyi watched Chi Yu's face brighten into a carefree, lively smile again without saying anything.

I mustn't be curious, he thought.

The corners of Xie Xiyi's lips also lifted as he said casually, "As your senior brother, I can lend you a shoulder."

Chi Yu feigned surprise. "You could lend me an embrace just now. Why is it only a shoulder now?"

Xie Xiyi smiled. "You've drooled all over your neck. You're too dirty for me."

Chi Yu: "!"

He hurriedly felt his neck. It was wet; he had forgotten to wipe it.

A mischievous smile tugged at his lips. He grabbed Xie Xiyi's sleeve and wiped his neck with it. "Senior Brother Xuanji, now you're just as dirty as me!"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Watching them, Xiaoqiu yawned. Growing sleepy, he rolled to the inner side of the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The child's soft snores began to sound. Chi Yu lowered his voice and told Xie Xiyi, "Senior Brother Xuanji, shh."

Xie Xiyi: "...Mm."

The next day.

Chi Yu and the other two said goodbye to the village chief and set off for Lotus Pod Mountain.

On the way, Chi Yu remembered something else and took out the bottle of Thousand Mountains Brew for Xie Xiyi. "Senior Brother Xuanji, could you check whether there's anything wrong with this wine?"

He remembered that the villain had treated him fairly well at first, only turning hostile after seeing the wine in his hand.

Xie Xiyi took the Thousand Mountains Brew, uncorked it, and sniffed it. "It's good stuff. The spiritual energy is very rich."

Chi Yu said, "Hm? Really? It's a specialty from Wangxian Continent. They say it can improve your innate aptitude. It's pretty expensive, too. A bottle this size costs one middle-grade spirit stone."

Xie Xiyi glanced at Chi Yu and tossed the bottle back indifferently. "Improving innate aptitude requires natural treasures. What can one bottle of wine improve? Don't let people swindle you. At most, this spirit wine can restore spiritual power. Don't expect anything more."

Chi Yu: "Oh."

He put the Thousand Mountains Brew away. Although the Crown Prince had said that, he still didn't dare drink it. Perhaps the villain's change in attitude had been so abrupt that it had left him somewhat wary of the stuff.

When they arrived at Lotus Pod Mountain, they could sense the dense Demonic Qi emanating from it as soon as they approached. The surroundings were utterly silent. Not a single living creature remained.

Although Xie Xiyi had said yesterday to leave it to him, he wouldn't take care of absolutely everything.

And Chi Yu wasn't the sort to hide behind Xie Xiyi and let him fight alone, so he volunteered, "I'll go test the enemy's strength first. I have the Forbidden Curse on me, so that's some protection. You don't need to worry about me, Senior Brother Xuanji."

Xie Xiyi only said, "Go ahead."

Sword in hand, Chi Yu entered the mountain.

The demon had evidently devoured every Yaoshou on the mountain. Their remains lay everywhere. Because Yaoshou contained spiritual energy, they decomposed much more slowly than ordinary animals.

As Chi Yu lifted his feet, he could feel scraps of flesh and blood sticking to the soil. A heavy bloody smell filled the air, carrying a nauseating stench.

Covering his mouth and nose, Chi Yu quickly took a piece of cloth from his Sumeru Ring and fashioned it into a simple mask.

He stood there and thought for a moment, deciding there was no need to search for the demon. Demons were highly territorial; it should have noticed him the moment he entered the mountain.

With that thought, he stopped searching and stayed where he was, looking at the system panel.

There wasn't actually much to look at, but when he saw that the Crown Prince's marker was close by, he couldn't help smiling.

The Crown Prince was clearly concealing his presence; even the light of his marker had dimmed considerably. But the system was quite good in this respect. Even if someone concealed their form, they would still dutifully appear on the map.

Senior Brother Xuanji is worried about me, Chi Yu thought.

Just as he thought this, the air around him suddenly grew stagnant. A heavy smell of blood, mixed with the distinctive rank odor of a beast, rushed toward Chi Yu.

Chi Yu nimbly dodged, and the ancient tree behind him, so broad that three people could barely encircle it, was instantly severed across the middle.

"Roar!" A tiger's roar rang out, laden with powerful spiritual energy. It jolted Chi Yu's entire body stiff, and black blood instantly streamed from his nose and mouth.

The demon moved as swiftly as lightning. Chi Yu hadn't even seen its form, but that single roar confirmed that he truly couldn't kill it. He made an immediate decision, stopped trying to prove himself, and turned to run.

The Forbidden Curse hadn't activated, so it evidently wouldn't react unless it was a killing move.

Hurry to the Crown Prince before this demon kills me.

But the demon's original form was a tiger, and tigers were kings of the forest. It had the home-ground advantage here. How could it allow Chi Yu to escape right under its nose?

It charged at Chi Yu as swiftly as lightning. It could already see the pale neck of this Foundation Establishment human cultivator. Just as it opened its reeking jaws to bite through his neck, a golden sword light flashed across its scarlet beast eyes. Its vision spun wildly, and moments later, its head fell to the ground, followed by the thunderous collapse of its enormous body.

It had been slain with a single strike.

Chi Yu heard a clear, ringing sword cry. Looking back, he saw the Crown Prince's tall figure standing behind him, having already beheaded the demon.

Chi Yu stopped, drew a deep breath, turned around, and walked briskly to Xie Xiyi's side.

Only now did he finally get a clear look at the demon. It was an enormous black tiger, its thick fur like steel blades, its limbs sturdy and powerful, and its claws gleaming with a cold light like sharp knives.

Xiaoqiu was clearly accustomed to such scenes. He went over on his own and put the beast's head into his Storage Bag, then took a sword and began cutting up the giant tiger's body.

Chi Yu swallowed, feeling as though he was meeting Xiaoqiu for the first time.

Seeing him, Xiaoqiu called, "Aotian-ge, come help."

Chi Yu: screaming.jpg

He shuffled over reluctantly. "Help with what?"

Xiaoqiu said, "Separate this demon's bones from its flesh. Demon bones are materials for artifact refining. This one was at Qi Refining Stage Great Perfection, so every part of its body can be sold. His Highness doesn't want the money, so it's all mine!"

Then he smiled at Chi Yu and said, "Now it's ours."

Smelling the blood, Chi Yu couldn't help himself. "Urgh-"

Xiaoqiu said, "Ah! Aotian-ge, why are you throwing up?"

Chi Yu waved a hand. "It's-it's nothing."

He took his sword and copied what Xiaoqiu was doing, but couldn't hold back another retch.

Xiaoqiu finally understood. With sympathy on his face, he said, "All right, Aotian-ge, stop. Let me do it. I'll handle it."

Chi Yu said, "How can I leave you to do it alone-urgh."

Chi Yu's face had gone pale.

Xiaoqiu said, "All right, all right, Aotian-ge, go rest."

Chi Yu: "..."

He stopped forcing himself and walked aside, pale-faced.

Xie Xiyi came over to him and said quietly, "Foundation Establishment Stage."

Chi Yu: "..."

Xie Xiyi said, "Qi Refining Third Layer."

Chi Yu: "..."

Xie Xiyi said, "Xiaoqiu is seven years younger than you."

Chi Yu: "..."

He added another layer to his mask, rolled up his sleeves, and charged back over. "Xiaoqiu, I'll help you!"

I can't let the Crown Prince look down on me. I'm a cultivator, after all!

After a long time, they finally finished breaking down the pile of artifact-refining materials. Chi Yu found them dirty, so everything went into Xiaoqiu's Storage Bag.

Once they were done, Xie Xiyi patted his own shoulder at him and curled his lips into a smile.

Chi Yu rolled his eyes and was about to refuse when he remembered something. A wicked grin appeared on his face. "I don't want your shoulder. I want your embrace, Senior Brother Xuanji."

Xie Xiyi raised an eyebrow and opened his arms to him.

Chi Yu brought his bloodstained hand out from behind his back and abruptly wiped it across Xie Xiyi's chest.

Xie Xiyi looked down at the five distinct blood-red finger marks on his blue-green robe and offered a quiet assessment. "Childish."

Chi Yu grabbed his lapel and pressed several more bloody fingerprints onto it. Finally, with outrageous daring, he even pressed two red fingerprints onto Xie Xiyi's face.

Xie Xiyi: "..."

His lips curled into a somewhat dangerous smile. "Very good."

Sensing trouble, Chi Yu turned to run, but Xie Xiyi caught him in his arms and pinned him to the ground. With one hand, he untied the Hair Tie from his long black hair and used it to bind Chi Yu's unruly hands.

The golden bell jingled as Chi Yu struggled, accompanied by his laughing pleas for mercy. "Senior Brother Xuanji, I was joking! Please spare me, Senior Brother Xuanji! Senior Brother Xuanji!"

Holding him down, Xie Xiyi smiled. "No."

Chi Yu said, "Senior Brother Xuanji!"

Xie Xiyi chuckled softly. "Say something nice, and I'll let you off."

Chi Yu rattled off a string of compliments. Xie Xiyi kept smiling, but still wouldn't untie his hands.

Chi Yu could only seek outside help. "Xiaoqiu! Xiaoqiu, help me!"